Elway Brings Credibility to Arena League

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, January 29, 2003

John Elway's fame and competitive drive are exactly what the Arena Football League needs.

He just might have to wait a while for a championship, like he did with the Denver Broncos.

"I keep trying to remind John that he has an expansion team," AFL commissioner David Baker said. "He keeps telling me he wants to win an ArenaBowl ring to go with his Super Bowl rings."

Surely the Arena League expected nothing less when it welcomed Elway, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke into the league as owners of the new Colorado Crush.

"John Elway brings enormous credibility to our league," Baker said. "He was a big star in the NFL, and now he's a guy who is working awfully hard to put out a quality product for the fans."

Elway, the Crush's president and chief executive officer, has overseen the entire operation, from assembling front-office staff and managing the budget to hiring coaches and evaluating and signing players.

"I feel like an expectant father," said Elway, who won the first of his two consecutive Super Bowls with the Broncos following the 1997 season, at age 37. "We think we've got everything covered. But I know that the closer we get to our opener, the more apprehensive I'll be."

Elway appears to have joined the AFL at an ideal time. The league just negotiated its first national television contract, with NBC set to broadcast up to 70 games starting Sunday.

"We will have between 22 and 24 media advertisers and sponsors," Baker said. "About five years ago, I think we might have had two."

Hoping to capitalize on football fans who are going through pigskin withdrawal after the Super Bowl, the AFL moved up the start of its season from its usual mid-April opening to this week. Carolina plays at Tampa Bay on Friday night, with another game Saturday and six more Sunday.

"Football fans don't stop being football fans when they turn off the TV after the Super Bowl," Baker said.

The fast-paced indoor game might not be for everyone, but Baker is determined to try to make the AFL, entering its 17th season, "the most fan-friendly league in the world."

How many other sports have players return to the field after every game to sign autographs for 30 minutes?

And talk about high scoring: New York's Aaron Garcia threw an AFL-record 104 touchdown passes in 2001, including 11 in one game.

The AFL differs from conventional football in other ways, too: a 50-yard field, and walls along the sidelines instead of chalked boundaries. There are no offensive tackles or tight ends, teams pass on almost every down, and each player does duty on offense and defense.

Quarterbacks Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams and Tommy Maddox of the Pittsburgh Steelers are among the AFL's alumni.

"A whole lot of people are about to see the unique nature of our game now," Baker said.

Elway's team made some waves in the offseason by signing the ArenaBowl MVP, quarterback John Dutton, from the San Jose SaberCats.

"I think we'll be competitive," Elway said. "I know we're an expansion team, and we're in a tough division. I'll probably have to show some patience. But I want to win."

Colorado already is off to a solid start financially, having sold 10,000 season tickets _ a figure Elway said "far exceeds our expectations." The Dallas Desperados led the league in attendance last season, their first, averaging 13,603.

Coach Bob Beers, a former Broncos scout, will lead Colorado in its debut Sunday against the Georgia Force.

San Jose hopes to become the first champion to repeat since Tampa Bay in 1995-96.

Coach Darren Arbet's SaberCats beat Arizona 52-14 in the ArenaBowl despite losing the league's offensive player of the year, quarterback Mark Grieb, to a broken collarbone late in the regular season. Dutton threw five TD passes in the ArenaBowl.

A healthy Grieb returns, along with WR/LB Barry Wagner, who needs just one rushing touchdown to become the first player in league history with 90. He's also 49 tackles shy of becoming the first with 600.

The Arizona Rattlers _ coached by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White _ have made 10 straight playoff appearances but finished second to San Jose the last three years in the American Conference's Western Division.

Colorado also is in the West, along with Los Angeles, which made its first playoff appearance.

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